Père Élie de Deir-el-Harf

This article takes the form of a personal testimony by Father Élie, higumen of the Monastery of Saint George of Deir el-Harf in Lebanon, on the figure of Father André Scrima, his spiritual father and founding guide of the monastic community from 1959 onwards. Through excerpts from letters and homilies by Father Scrima, the author outlines the main features of his spirituality: the conception of the monk as pilgrim, the importance of maturity in faith, charity and discernment, the primacy of humility and trust in divine mercy. The article offers both a hagiographic and theological contribution, documenting the teaching of an Orthodox spiritual master of the twentieth century whose influence was felt in Lebanon as well as in the West, and whose thought is rooted in the patristic tradition, particularly in Maximus the Confessor.